My Parents Are Dentists, Not Wizards
by galnkay
Summary: Young Draco encounters an annoyingly perceptive and bushy-haired girl at Madam Malkin's, and finds himself bested by her mysteriously fresh worldview.
A/N: So, it's been a while since I've last published anything onto this site, and I realized how much I missed writing! Here's a little thing I wrote, just a bit of fluff, because I won't ever stop loving Draco and Hermione.

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My Parents Are Dentists, Not Wizards

Draco Malfoy shifted uncomfortably on Madam Malkin's wide tailor's platform. The movement sent the pins securing the oversized robe to his frame straight into his arm. He yelped. He had to sneeze. He scowled and tried to remain still, reaching up carefully to scratch his nose, taking care to avoid upsetting the pins. The robe fitting had been running along smoothly, until the bell at the front of the shop had been rung, indicating another customer who required the Madam's attention. And now, Draco was alone in the back of the shop, surrounded by looms and fabrics and skeins of exotic yarns, with a sneeze in his nose and a scowl on his face.

He didn't turn around when he heard the door open, but straightened up and intensified his scowl. This was taking far too long. Mother had promised him that after his fitting, they could take a look at the new broomsticks at Quality Quidditch Supplies. He glared at his shoes which poked out from under the hem of the baggy robes. This was cutting into his broom time, and was also poor customer service. Had his father been here, Draco was sure that the Madam never would have left him alone to attend to another customer. They were Malfoys, after all.

"Two first years," Madam Malkin commented happily, circling Draco. He raised his head and his eyes shot to the platform beside him, where a girl with an obnoxious mass of bushy hair stood, hands folded smartly behind her back. His eyes again found his shoes. The Madam circled him and cocked her head. With a wave of her hand, a nearby tape measurer jumped to attention and began to zip around Draco taking various measurements. As she pocketed the tape measurer, she asked, "Are you both looking forward to the new school year?"

"No." Draco mumbled.

"Oh, yes!" cried the bushy-haired girl at the same time. Draco rolled his eyes. The Madam smiled, and waved her hand. A swarm of pins flew across the room and began pinning the hem of Draco's robes.

"Which houses will the two of you be hoping for?" the Madam asked.

"Slytherin." Draco replied, without hesitation.

"Gryffindor." said the mass of bushy hair, with equal fervor. "I've read all about it."

"Read about it?" Draco asked, curiously, continuing to remain still. His eyes followed the pins warily as they finished up his hem. "Why would you need to read about Gryffindor?"

"Well, why wouldn't I?" Bushy-Hair answered haughtily. Draco ruffled, and Madam Malkin began to work on his sleeves. Her hands were warm on his wrists.

"Everybody already knows about Gryffindor, anyways." He mumbled.

"Well, I didn't. I didn't know that any of this existed, at least, not before I got my owl in the mail." Bushy-Hair replied. Her words hung thickly in the air. Madam Malkin continued to tinker with his robes. Draco slowly raised his eyes to look at this strange girl, and was surprised to find her already staring back at him, brown eyes blazing.

"You mean you-"

"My parents are dentists." Bushy-Hair said suddenly. "Not wizards."

"Dentists…" he repeated, his brain trying to register what this odd, frizzy-haired creature was telling him. What was that? He felt as if he should at least pretend to know what a Dentist was; he didn't want to look stupid.

"They fix people's teeth." She explained matter-of-factly. He didn't reply, but his confusion must have been visible, and she laughed. "Well how on earth do you wizards go about fixing teeth?"

"We just use magic." Draco said quickly, personally insulted that this girl found the notion of fixing teeth by magic to be laughable. What knowledge did Dentists possess that could somehow be better than magic? This implied that there was something greater than being a wizard, more honorable than being a pureblood wizard, and that just wasn't possible, was it?

"That's silly. Magic can't possibly fix everything." Bushy-Hair scoffed. "It just isn't practical."

"You don't use magic?" he asked quietly. He snuck a glance up at her. She was still staring at him, smiling, irritatingly.

"Of course not. This is all new for me. Granted, I'm very interested in seeing how this world works." She said. His eyes widened, and he had to keep from gaping at her. He had never met a Muggle-born before, but from what his father had told him, they were dangerous and dirty. They were thieves who possessed stolen magic. She didn't seem dangerous, however, or dirty, despite being a bit annoying.

"You're really a Muggle?" Draco blurted out, stupidly, without thinking.

"Manners, Mr. Malfoy." Madam Malkin interrupted sternly. She moved to measure the girl beside him.

"A Muggle?" Bushy-Hair asked, clearly confused. The enchanted tape measurer zipped around her and she watched it with wonder as it straightened and twirled without assistance. Draco smirked.

"A non-magical person, dear." Madam Malkin explained kindly, reaching over to Draco and adjusting the sleeve of his robe with a tug.

"Oh, then yes." The girl replied brightly. "I guess I am." Was she really not bothered by this? Surely this girl had to understand that she was a minority here, that being a Muggle-born was uncommon and not something to advertise or be proud of. Draco shook his head incredulously.

"I'm a Pureblood." he said proudly after a moment, puffing out his chest. He waited for her reaction, for her jealousy, for her admiration of his bloodline. He received none of this.

"Your family is magical, then?" the girl asked, shifting as the Madam began to fix her sleeves. Draco rolled his eyes and huffed at her.

"Of course. We're not only magical, but purely magical. Superior. Noble. Magic is my heritage." He explained with a smirk. He noticed Madam Malkin stop her work for a moment, her hands tense on the Bushy-Hair's right sleeve.

"Alright." Bushy-Hair replied, not seeming to be impressed in the slightest. Madam Malkin resumed her work. Draco deflated.

"Alright?"

"Yes, alright. I have no magic in my blood and I'm still accepted into Hogwarts. My parents are dentists and yours are wizards, yet we're still attending the same school. It seems to me that bloodline is inconsequential to magical ability. It seems to me that we're not much different." Bushy-Hair's voice had become softer than it had been earlier, and Madam Malkin had stopped her alterations completely.

Draco didn't know how to respond. Who was this girl to criticize and question his family's nobility with her indifference and her big words? His family was important, powerful, and respected. Her family was nothing, she came from nothing. Muggle-borns were lesser wizards, according to his father, and his father was always right. If this girl was somehow below him, if her kind were supposed to be thieves and phonies, then why was she making so much sense? Why was she here? The Malfoy's were part of a different class, a better breed. Draco's thoughts were jumping around wildly, from curiosity to shock to desperate anger.

"Look-" He began, turning to fully face this girl for the first time. Bushy-Hair raised her eyebrows and her brown eyes widened.

"That's enough, now." Madam Malkin interceded again, flicking her hand and allowing Draco's robes to fall from his shoulders and fold in the air. He immediately relaxed his muscles and realized that his hands had been balled into fists at his side. The Madam cleared her throat and waved her hand again, this time allowing Bushy-Hair's robes to fall. "This kind of talk is less than appropriate."

"But-" Draco began, only to be silenced by a glare from the older witch. He opened his mouth to argue, but was interrupted by the entrance of his mother. Narcissa glided into the room and across the floor to stand before him and look him up and down.

"Look, Draco, love, you're already finished. That wasn't so bad, now, was it?" she asked, a hint of a smile gracing her pale face. She reached out to brush his cheek with her fingers before turning to Madam Malkin. "Are the robes ready?"

"They'll be ready in an hour, Mrs. Malfoy." The Madam replied with a nod.

"I'm sure they'll be lovely. Lucius and I want our Draco to look nothing but the best this year as he carries on our family name in Slytherin." Narcissa motioned for Draco to get down from the platform, and she turned her head to Bushy-Hair. "What a pretty girl," she observed, and Bushy-Hair smiled sweetly. "Draco, perhaps you've already found a friend before the year's start."

Scowling, Draco jumped off the platform and headed straight for the door. Just as he was about to open it, he turned around to look at Bushy-Hair. All the while, Bushy-Hair watched him, looking as if she might burst into laughter at any moment. He walked quickly out of the room, but not before he heard Bushy-Hair call out,

"See you at school, Mr. Pureblood."


End file.
